1. Priority Information
This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 03076645.5, filed May 28, 2003, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a displacement apparatus, a related lithographic apparatus, a device manufacturing method and a device manufactured thereby.
3. Description of the Related Art
Lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, a patterning device may be used to generate a desired circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising one or more dies) on a substrate (silicon wafer) that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist).
In general, a single wafer will contain a whole network of adjacent target portions that are successively irradiated via the projection system, one at a time. In current apparatus, employing patterning by a mask on a mask table, a distinction can be made between two different types of machine. In one type of lithographic projection apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by exposing the entire mask pattern onto the target portion in one go; such an apparatus is commonly referred to as a wafer stepper or step-and-repeat apparatus.
In an alternative apparatus—commonly referred to as a step-and-scan apparatus—each target portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask pattern under the projection beam in a given reference direction (the “scanning” direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate table parallel or anti-parallel to this direction; since, in general, the projection system will have a magnification factor M (generally<1), the speed V at which the substrate table is scanned will be a factor M times that at which the mask table is scanned. More information with regard to lithographic devices as here described can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,792, incorporated herein by reference.
The term “patterning device” as here employed should be broadly interpreted as referring to a device that can be used to impart an incoming radiation beam with a patterned cross-section, corresponding to a pattern that is to be created in a target portion of the substrate; the term “light valve” can also be used in this context. Generally, the pattern will correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion, such as an integrated circuit or other device (see below). Examples of such patterning devices include:                a mask: the concept of a mask is well known in lithography, and it includes mask types such as binary, alternating phase-shift, and attenuated phase-shift, as well as various hybrid mask types. Placement of such a mask in the radiation beam causes selective transmission (in the case of a transmission mask) or reflection (in the case of a reflective mask) of the radiation impinging on the mask, according to the pattern on the mask. In the case of a mask, the support structure will generally be a mask table/holder, which ensures that the mask can be held at a desired position in the incoming radiation beam, and that it can be moved relative to the beam if so desired;        a programmable mirror array: one example of such a device is a matrix-addressable surface having a visco-elastic control layer and a reflective surface. The basic principle behind such an apparatus is that (for example) addressed areas of the reflective surface reflect incident light as diffracted light, whereas unaddressed areas reflect incident light as non-diffracted light. Using an appropriate filter, the non-diffracted light can be filtered out of the reflected beam, leaving only the diffracted light behind; in this manner, the beam becomes patterned according to the addressing pattern of the matrix-addressable surface. An alternative embodiment of a programmable mirror array employs a matrix arrangement of tiny mirrors, each of which can be individually tilted about an axis by applying a suitable localized electric field, or by employing piezoelectric actuation mechanism. Once again, the mirrors are matrix-addressable, such that addressed mirrors will reflect an incoming radiation beam in a different direction to unaddressed mirrors; in this manner, the reflected beam is patterned according to the addressing pattern of the matrix-addressable mirrors. The required matrix addressing can be performed using suitable electronic means. In both of the situations described here above, the patterning device can comprise one or more programmable mirror arrays. More information on mirror arrays as here referred to can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,296,891 and 5,523,193, and PCT patent applications WO 98/38597 and WO 98/33096, which are incorporated herein by reference. In the case of a programmable mirror array, the support structure may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required; and        a programmable LCD array: an example of such a construction is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,872, which is incorporated herein by reference. As above, the support structure in this case may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required.        
For purposes of simplicity, the rest of this text may, at certain locations, specifically direct itself to examples involving a mask and mask table/holder; however, the general principles discussed in such instances should be seen in the broader context of the patterning device as set forth here above.
In manufacturing processes that employ a lithographic projection apparatus, a pattern (e.g. in a mask) is imaged onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as priming, resist coating and a soft bake. After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake (PEB), development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features. This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g. an IC. Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc., all intended to finish off an individual layer. If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer.
Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate (wafer). These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual devices can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc. Further information regarding such processes can be obtained, for example, from the book “Microchip Fabrication: A Practical Guide to Semiconductor Processing”, Third Edition, by Peter van Zant, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 0-07-067250-4, incorporated herein by reference.
For the sake of simplicity, the projection system may hereinafter be referred to as the “lens”; however, this term should be broadly interpreted as encompassing various types of projection system, including refractive optics, reflective optics, and catadioptric systems, for example. The radiation system may also include components operating according to any of these design types for directing, shaping or controlling the projection beam of radiation, and such components may also be referred to below, collectively or singularly, as a “lens”.
Further, the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two or more substrate tables (and/or two or more mask tables). In such “multiple stage” devices the additional tables may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables while one or more other tables are being used for exposures. Dual stage lithographic apparatus are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,441 and WO 98/40791, both incorporated herein by reference.
It will be appreciated that displacement apparatuses, comprising a first and a second part which can be displaced with respect to each other with six degrees of freedom are known. The displacements may include movements along a first, second, and third different directions and rotations corresponding to each direction. Such an apparatus may be used, inter alia, in a wafer stepper for manufacturing integrated circuits. The first part comprises a platen extending in the x-y plane and on which a system of permanent magnets is secured in a particular arrangement. The second part comprises an electric coil system, wherein the electric coils are arranged in a particular way extending substantially in the x-y plane.
The second part is displaced from the first part in the z direction and disposed in a particular relationship with respect to it in the x-y plane. When electric currents pass through the coils, by virtue of the interaction between the magnetic field generated by the current passing through the coil with respect to the magnetic field of the permanent magnets disposed on the platen, a force between the first part and the second part is generated. The generated force depends upon the amplitude or amount of the current through the coils, shape of the coils the strength, type and shape of the permanent magnets, and the spatial arrangement of the magnets with respect to the coils. The second part is coupled to an x-y stage, which may for example be the wafer stage of a lithographic apparatus. In this way, the wafer stage can be moved into position in order to receive the projection beam.
Such apparatuses may be referred to as synchronous planar motors. The apparatuses may be referred to as “motors,” because the motion causes the stage to be driven to a predetermined position. The apparatuses are referred to as “synchronous,” because the magnetic field generated by the coils is arranged to be synchronous with the field of the permanent magnets. The apparatuses are also referred to as “planar,” because they provide movement in two directions, that is, along a plane.
Certain stages in manufacturing processes require movement in one direction. For example, in a lithographic apparatus, the reticle stage is moved substantially parallel to the y direction. Other stages substantially move in two coordinate directions. For example, in a lithographic apparatus, the wafer stage is moved substantially in the x and y directions. Conventional solutions using linear motors require a stack of linear motors arranged in an H- or T-shaped construction in order to provide movement in a plane. One problem with using a stack of linear motors combined with an air bearing is that the stack cannot be used in a vacuum, which is necessary for extreme ultra violet (EUV) or electron bundle imaging. In addition, planar motors are generally lighter than an H construction. Because there is less moving mass, higher accelerations can be obtained for a certain force.